Monday, 18 February 2013

Fission and Fusion

Today we're going to finish off looking at nuclear reactions and start preparing for the next topic - rates of reaction. Answer the following in your books:
  1. Explain in one line what nuclear fusion is.
  2. Give two reasons why fusion is not able to be used in power stations yet?
  3. Read this article, and give three advantages of using fusion to generate electricity.
  4. In a chemical reaction, what are the reactants and products?
  5. Give three ways that you could change the rate of a reaction:
  6. Why is the speed of molecules important to reaction rates? What happens if they don't move quick enough?
  7. What is a catalyst? Why would they be good for industrial processes?
  8. Use the graph below and your knowledge of catalysts to explain how a catalyst helps a reaction happen more quickly:


9. Try this activity to build your very own atom. What can go wrong?

HOMEWORK - Watch this documentary about the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and explain the steps leading up to the accident, and how it was fixed.

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Radiation

Today we're going to catch on some of the radiation section we've already seen, and introduce some new topics. Answer these in your books:
  1. Watch this animation and explain what can happen to living cells when they are exposed to radiation:
  2. Briefly explain what is meant by nuclear fission. Use the picture below if you think you remember:
  3. What is nuclear fusion?
  4. Use the animation (and your knowledge of the subject) to give one similarity and one differnce between fission and fusion.
  5. Describe what the numbers mean in this nuclear reaction equation: 
  6. Describe how fission is used to generate electricity. Why are control rods important in this process?
  7. What went wrong during the Chernobyl disaster?
  8. Answer the following exam type question - 'Evaluate the use of fission reactors to generate electricity.'Make sure you include an intro, arguments for each side, and your own point of view in the conclusion.
  9. Try this activity to build your very own atom. What can go wrong?

Monday, 21 January 2013

Year 11 ISA

Today we're going to start the year 11 ISA - this isn't a practice, but the real one that will count towards your final marks. The tasks for today are as follows:

  1. Watch the demonstration at the front of the class, thinking about different variables involved with the tests.
  2. Copy out the hypothesis - 'The extension of a rubber band depends on the force applied'.
  3. Write the method that you will use for the practical next week (we will sit section 1 on Friday). There are similar experiments here and here. BBC bitesize has some good material about Hooke's Law too.
  4. Hand your named planning sheet back to Mr. Cole.

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Progress test revision

These are the topics that we've completed so far this year (with Miss Chandarana and me), which could be included in the progress test:
Biology: Cells, tissues and organsorganisms and their environment, enzymes, respiration.
Chemistry: Structure and bonding, structure and properties/quantitative chemistry (moles).
Physics: Forces, energy and momentum.
Remember to use your revision guides to help you, and feel free to come and find either Miss Chandarana or me if you have any questions tomorrow morning. Good luck!

Friday, 14 December 2012

Energy flows

Today we're going to look at the other Biology material we need to cover for this half term. Answer the following in your books:
  1. What is biomass?
  2. Explain where the energy in most foodchains originally comes from:
  3. What reaction produces energy in living cells? Where does this reaction occur?
  4. Name four ways in which an organism can lose energy so that it isn't available higher up the food chain:
  5. What organisms carry out decay?
  6. What conditions are needed for decay to occur?
  7. Briefly explain how carbon can travel from the atmosphere into the bird, through the soil and back to the atmosphere again.
  8. How much energy is needed to produce a steak?
  9. How would this change if the animal was intensively farmed?
  10. Watch this video, and explain why this body DIDN'T decay:
  11. Try this activity. Is there one way or more than one way for carbon to cycle?

Wednesday, 5 December 2012

Metals

Today we're going to do some work with transition metals and review the section you have looked at with Ms. Elias.  Answer the following in your books:
  1. Where are transition metals found in the period table?
  2. What are some properties that they share?
  3. What is an alloy? Give some properties of one alloy from the table:
  4. In what two ways do metals differ from one another?
  5. Give one thing that all metals have in common:
  6. Go to kerboodle, and log in to find the materials in the 'co-ordination and control' assignment. Start working through these to prepare for the progress test. You should start with the 'ups and downs of life' section, as the practical didn't work too well in class.

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Biology 2.3 - Enzymes

We're going to start the nesxt topic section today, looking at enzymes and their roles in the body. Answer the following questions in your books:
  1. What is a protein made from?
  2. List two ways that proteins can differ from one another:
  3. What do enzymes do in the body?
  4. Can any enzyme act on any molecule? Use the scientific term to describe this.
  5. List two factors that influence how well an enzyme works:
  6. Watch this animation. Give the name of a digestive enzyme and explain where it is produced in the body.
  7. Briefly explain what the other two enzymes from the table are, and what they break down.
  8. Watch the video below, explaining what the active site is:
  9. Why would enzymes that work in the stomach be able to tolerate a very low pH?
  10. Complete the handout with exam style questions from Mr. Cole. This will be homework, which you should mark yourself and bring back to class.